David Novak, CEO, Yum! Brands

(CNN) -- If you need a quick bite on the go, David Novak is your man.

He heads up Yum! Brands the largest fast food operator in the world, with nearly 35,000 locations. Among the household names on Yum's menu are chicken giant KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.

Novak talks to CNN's Maggie Lake in The Boardroom about leadership tastes, the love of the industry and his surprise at finding himself in the corner office.

Novak: Well I never really dreamt that I would become a chief executive officer of a company like Yum brands. You know, I grew up in a pretty humble background, in the trailer court, I had lived in 23 states by the time I was in 7th grade.

I started out as an advertising copywriter and moved up the agency ladders so, none of this was really planned and I worked hard, don't get me wrong, but you know when I look back at it I go "how did it happen to me?" And what the book that I just wrote is all about is what I learned along the way.

Lake: How did that experience shape you as a CEO?

Novak: Well, I think when you're leading a company you have to be able to motivate people, inspire people and get along with all different types of people. And, when I was traveling as a young child and moving into all these schools for the first time, I think it taught me how to work through the anxiety of meeting new people and sort of giving you that sixth sense of who to hang with -- who's really good, who's not so hot -- and I think that's helped shape my career.

Lake: As you've moved up the ladder to CEO, is it harder to stay in touch with people who are on the frontline now?

Novak: Well, I think it would be easy to walk away from the front line, but I think what you have to do as a CEO is be in touch with the people. You know, I love our business because I love people, I love food, I love marketing -- you know, the business is all about those things. So, for me it's very easy to go out and be with the people, I like that and I wouldn't like my job if I couldn't do it.

Lake: Now, you've been described as hyper competitive, is that an asset or a liability?

Novak: Well, that's the other reason why I like what I do, I'm in a very competitive category. And it is a very, slug it out, you know, you want to beat the other guy, you want to do better, you want to be first, you want to be innovative, so to me that's another reason why I love what I do. And we have a company of people that love that too, and that's what the real privilege is.

Lake: Has the attention on the obesity epidemic changed how you approach the business or Yum's strategy?

Novak: Well, first of all, we really don't market to children, that's not a real strategy of ours. Second of all, we are very cogniscent with obesity, we know obesity is a problem and that's why we were the first to take the trans fats out of our cooking oils. That's why we're looking for ways to reduce sodium and make our food more and more nutritious, that's why we're really offering consumers more options.

Lake: Yum is one of the dominant players in China and you've succeeded where others have failed, what's been the key to your success there?

Novak: We have our own distribution system -- it's the only place in the world where we have our own distribution system. We have the largest retail development network in the world in China, because this is such a growth opportunity for us.

And then we have a people capability, our operations there are absolutely outstanding, I think 70% of our restaurants' general managers have at least a college education, and if you go there you see tremendous customer mania, you see lots of focus on the customer and we're winning on every front. E-mail to a friend